Bullet To The Head (2012)

Directed by: Walter Hill
Country: USA

Review: Sylvester Stallone plays the tough guy again, this time guided by the hand of Walter Hill, an experienced director on action movies, such as “The Driver”, “The Warriors”, “Southern Comfort” or “48 Hours”. “Bullet to The Head” is weak in many aspects and heavily clichéd, adopting a rough posture that had good results in the final 70’s and throughout the 80’s, but which no longer works. The plot consists in an unlikely and quite sentimental cooperation between an expert hitman (Stallone) and a young cop (Sung Kang), after members of a gang have shot their partners. Beyond the flat story, sloppy dialogues were used, where we can hear about tattoos or popular phrases such as: ‘guns don’t kill people, bullets do’. It even tried to make some humorous considerations about modern cell phones, or put some thrill with the kidnapping of Stallone’s only daughter, but everything was in vain. The choreographed fight scenes along with the final moments seemed too fabricated to impress, while the performances were drab. Totally outdated!

Everyday (2012)

Directed by: Michael Winterbottom
Country: UK

Review: Filmed in England for a five-year period, Michael Winterbottom’s “Everyday” adopts a realistic approach to depict the struggle of Karen (Shirley Henderson) whose husband Ian (John Simm) was arrested for smuggling drugs. The plot consists on the every day’s routine for this woman, who has to work hard but at the same time tries to give the best education to her four children, even if she has to leave them with neighbors for considerable periods of time. The frequent visits to prison to see her husband in addition with the specific days that he gets authorization to leave in parole, represent brief moments of joy and caring for all the family. But Karen often feels lonely and vulnerable, assuming a new love affair. With natural performances and a way of filmmaking that refuses to be standardized, “Everyday” feels authentic, mixing moments of intensity and pain, with other of tenderness and beauty. Just a remark: despite its short duration, I sensed that the film needed to be trimmed a little more, especially before its final moments. A well worthy film, anyway.

Porfirio (2011)

Directed by: Alejandro Landes
Country: Colombia / others

Review: “Porfirio” shows the real life of Porfirio Ramirez, a 55 year-old Colombian man who was shot in the spine by a police officer, becoming paraplegic. The film centers in his day-to-day life, showing not only the constant physical struggle to accomplish the most basic tasks, but also the dependence from his son’s help, as well as some intimate moments with his girlfriend. Porfirio is trying to sue the state without success; he wasn’t even granted with any type of rehab, and his compensation never arrived. In order to call the attention for his case, he tried to hijack a plane with two grenades concealed in his diaper. This docudrama represents his last hope for justice, after having been sentenced with eight years of house arrest. Alejandro Landes adopted the same slow pace and rawness that characterize the style of Mexican Carlos Reygadas, although with diminished doses of abstraction. The images are colorful, the humor is subtle and the heat can almost be felt from outside the screen. Without any shame or complex, "Porfirio" says a lot about humanity and justice, at the same time that points a finger at the incompetent Colombian state. 

Mea Maxima Culpa (2012)

Directed by: Alex Gibney
Country: USA

Review: Dedicated to the students of St.John’s School for the Deaf in Wisconsin, this documentary unveils the sexual abuses committed by Father Lawrence Murphy, who molested more than 200 minor deaf boys before 1975. Four former students describe in detail what happened, comparing the pedophile priest to a sly wolf, a predator who entered every night into the dormitory to pick one of the silent lambs. It didn’t stick only with this individual case and many other priests' names were mentioned, not just in US, but also in Ireland and Italy. It also discloses the stratagems of the Vatican to conceal the facts and protect the pedophiles from being properly tried, as criminals that they are. Not even the popes John Paul II or Benedict XVI were spared to criticism. The savvy director Alex Gibney, made the interviewees show their anger and indignation without exploiting them emotionally. Sufficiently explanatory to show the world the demonic crimes hidden by Catholic Church.

Mental (2012)

Directed by: P.J. Hogan
Country: Australia / USA

Review: “Mental” tries to parody on mental illness and traumatic lives, using colorful tones and nutty behaviors. It was written and directed by P.J.Hogan, an Australian filmmaker who has been devoting himself to comedies for over 20 years. The story centers on a dysfunctional family, constituted by a mother with a talent for singing, an absent and unfaithful father and five disturbed children. They all have a propensity for craziness and sometimes are conscious of that. When the mother leaves for a psychiatric hospital, a woman arrives to take care of the girls, but she will reveal herself even crazier than the rest of the team. Using unorthodox methods she ends up being an aid for the family, yet without set in order her own traumas. Some sarcastic humor worked ok once in a while and in isolated situations, but as a whole the film misses the point. It showed constant concerns on giving a frenetic image and impose madness everywhere and in everyone, to the point of becoming disarticulated and, not infrequently, ridicule. Not even suitable for crazies!

Children Of Sarajevo (2012)

Directed by: Aida Begic
Country: Bosnia and Herzegovina / others

Review: Aida Begic’s new feature film has clear intentions to denounce what is going on in today’s post-war Bosnia. Using a shaky hand camera, Bejic centers on the life of siblings Rahima and Nedim. Rahima works hard in the kitchen of a fancy restaurant, not only to pay her bills and rent but also to keep the custody of his younger brother Nedim, taken out recently from an orphanage. Nedim is diabetic, reckless and often behaves like a delinquent, but Rahima won’t give up on him. Even though nothing has been said about Rahima's past, it’s clear that the war is still present in her memory, while religious faith works as an attempt to redeem herself from the past. Everything is surrounded by misery due to the Balkan conflict and actual economic crisis, but Rahima’s love for her brother will give her strength and hope to fight for a decent and honest life. Even if she has to face social class differences, religious prejudices or slanders. “Children of Sarajevo” received a special distinction in Cannes' Un Certain Regard section.

Lore (2012)

Directed by: Cate Shortland

Country: Australia / Germany / UK

Review: Eight years after the heartfelt “Somersault”, Australian filmmaker Cate Shortland makes her second move on feature film, to depict a German Nazi family at the end of WWII. Lore was abandoned to her luck after her parents, two devotees of the Fuhrer, have left their refuge to escape from the Allied forces. Continuously struggling to feed her five younger siblings, Lore departs with them for a long and risky journey, trying to reach her grandmother’s house in Hamburg. What she didn’t expect was to receive help from someone she learned to abominate all her life: a Jewish young man. Don’t be discouraged by the familiar theme; this film has more than the usual stuff. Newcomer actress Saskia Rosendahl was simply brilliant, showing the rigidness of the Nazi pride in opposition to the discomfort resultant from unexpected feelings or desires. The disappointment felt by the zealous supporters of Hitler's regime was depicted with genuine bitterness, along with the images of a chaotic and devastated Germany. “Lore” is subtle but incisive, proving that no fuss is needed to make a competent film. Its meaningful story, acute images, and immense heart, were enough to make it special.

Blancanieves (2012)

Directed by: Pablo Berger
Country: Spain

Review: After the French “The Artist” has invoked recently the black and white silent films from the past, here is another one coming from Spain that took the idea in a serious way, bringing to mind the topnotch dramatic movies from those times. Inspired in “Snow White”, “Blancanieves” adapts the classic with creativity, making an original parallel with the typical Spanish culture, where the flamenco and bullfights have a prominent place. Set in the 20’s Andalusia, the film marks the return of Pablo Berger to filmmaking, nine years after the respected “Torremolinos 73”. Macarena Garcia put charm in the role of Spanish Snow White, but was Maribel Verdú who stood out as profligate and cruel stepmother. Regardless of the fact I loathe bullfights, Blancanieves should be seen for its confident direction, expressive performances, appealing visuals and well-crafted ideas. Even employing a primitive approach, it managed to bestow some freshness to an old and recurring tale.

It's A Disaster (2012)

Directed by: Todd Berger
Country: USA

Review: “It’s a Disaster” is a comedy that ridicules loving relationships, the end of the world and society in general. Todd Berger wrote, directed and also acted in a scene, for a couple of minutes. The story tells the adventures of four couples that join for a Sunday’s brunch when a radioactivity alert is emitted by the authorities. Stuck inside the house, they will use their remaining time to show more about their personalities, unveil some secrets and prepare for the end. Despite of the TV-series style adopted, the plot has its good surprises and shows some keen humor. Actually, there’s an awkward stupidity that works fine here. All characters show distinct behaviors that maintained me curious till the end. The characters' moods ranged from: frightened, in shock, paranoid, sad, frustrated, open-minded, indifferent, neurotic, frivolous or plainly crazy. “It’s A Disaster” didn't spark a lot of laughs but let out some amusing energy with its screwball tone and laudable finale.

Side Effects (2013)

Directed: Steven Soderbergh
Country: USA

Review: Soderbergh is known for not clinging to the same style or approach two times in a row. After the flamboyant “Magic Mike” or the experiment-on-action “Haywire”, he returns to the thriller genre with “Side Effects”, a film more in the line of “Contagion” but replacing the sci-fi factor for a psychological one. To tell the truth, “Side Effects” worked better than any of the movies mentioned before, mostly due to three aspects: unpredictability of the plot, stable pace with no low or weak moments, and precision in storytelling. The story centers in a woman with a long history of depression, who murders her husband. Having been medicated with a new antidepressant, she claims not to remember having committed the act. A question arises: is she guilty of a conscious homicide or a mere victim of medicine side effects? Soderbergh expressed his versatility through designed camera plans and magnificent close-ups, highlighting the coldness of the characters, but never neglecting the gripping atmosphere. Reliable side effects are guaranteed from watching this one.

Jayne Mansfield's Car (2012)

Directed by: Billy Bob Thornton
Country: USA / Russia

Review: It’s clear that Billy Bob Thornton is more successful in front of the camera than behind it. 1996’s “Sling Blade” is an exception to this fact, where he was brilliant on both sides. After 11 years without directing, he is back with “Jayne Mansfield’s Car”, a film with respected intentions despite of a somewhat messy plot. A woman’s funeral will join two families together in Alabama, one American and one English. Curiously, both of them have common problems that drag on for some time. Billy Bob creates its own vision on father-son relationships in addition to war traumas, but I believe this could have been done without a forced plot and using a less restrained execution. Most of the scenes didn't take advantage from the underlying tension created. It was a shame that the movie hadn’t totally assumed the weirdness suggested in some moments, opting instead for a more formulaic approach. Positive aspects: the performances, and Robert Duvall's magnificent trip on LSD. Recommended with reservations.

Dormant Beauty (2012)

Directed by: Marco Bellocchio
Country: Italy / France

Review: Veteran filmmaker Marco Bellocchio has always been relegated to a second plan, although he had presented us with some good films in the past, which were the cases of “Fists In The Pocket”, “Good Morning, Night”, “My Mother’s Smile” or “Vincere”. All of them, in one way or another, evinced political, social, religious or moral considerations. “Dormant Beauty” mixes all these aspects to deal with death, including the sensitive matter of euthanasia, but failed to surprise. The film sought inspiration in the real case of Eluana Englaro, an Italian woman who won the right to die after being 17 years in a vegetative state, to depict three different stories concerning the legitimacy of putting an end to a human life. Bellocchio shows in a taciturn way, how painful this can be for those who lost the joy of living, as well as for the people around them. Unstable and unemotional, "Dormant Beauty" counts with good performances but doesn't add anything relevant to the matters in question.

No (2012)

Directed by: Pablo Larraín
Country: Chile / France / USA

Review: Pablo Larraín deserves a place of merit among contemporary filmmakers. “Tony Manero” and “Post Mortem” confirm that. “No” represents a turning point on his career, since the movies mentioned above had obsession as theme, while this one is purely political. It covers the 1988’s advertising campaigns in Chile, in a time that the country was preparing to decide about the continuity of dictator Pinochet as president. Gael Garcia Bernal is the protagonist, playing a visionary advertiser that led the campaign of No against fear, not without some of it due to the threats received. Its start was not so strong, but the film evolved resolutely towards the overpowering final moments. “No” was able to depict the atmosphere lived in Chile at that time: the machinations, the intimidations, the suspicions, the thoughts, and the relentless anxiety or fear. A strange, dazzling light was used within a simple direction, in a respectable film where the ideas reign in detriment of technical details.

Naked Harbour (2012)

Directed by: Aku Louhimies
Country: Finland

Review: “Naked Harbour” gathers a bunch of characters to depict several different stories set in Vuosaari, a neighborhood in the city of Helsinki. Aku Louhimies put grown-ups and kids to interact in distinct problematic situations. All depicted with gloominess, we have: a couple of junkies with debts and no food, a divorced mother struggling with cancer, a married man who can’t put his sexual life in order and finds a lover, a bullied boy and his mother, a father who is obsessed with losing weight and torments his son, a 16-year old girl who lives with her dad and doesn’t want to be ordinary, and finally an American guy who goes to Finland to give some lectures. The stories are about love and pursuit for recognition, but all of them include a prolonged heaviness and cruelty, just to bring some indulgence and self-pity in the end at the sound of Robbie Williams’ “Feel”. Joyful moments aren’t abundant in a depressing film that carries ‘I can cope with my life’ as purpose.

Robot And Frank (2012)

Directed by: Jake Shreier
Country: USA

Review: “Robot & Frank” is a futuristic comedy depicting an unlikely association between a man and a robot to perpetrate some criminal actions. Frank lives alone and is having problems with his memory. So, his son offers him a robot to help cleaning the house and make healthy food. Frank gets mad in the beginning but then has the brilliant idea to use the robot on what he does best: burglary. Frank Langella has a compelling performance as a compulsive thief, but Shreier’s first film has its flaws. Why Frank wasn’t arrested right away when it got proved that he had broke into the library to steal a precious book? The film’s development was time-consuming and not particularly funny, with the story starting to get a bit warmer after an hour. I cannot say this is a bad movie; its story is just not thorough enough to be remembered in its genre. Still, this robotic-crime-comedy should please those who have a taste for low-key crime films with a hint of futurism.

Warm Bodies (2013)

Directed by: Jonathan Levine
Country: USA

Review: “Warm Bodies” is an alternative to traditional zombie flicks. It consists in a post-apocalyptic romantic tale, having Julie (Teresa Palmer) and R (Nicholas Hoult) as main characters. The former belongs to the world of the living and is the daughter of the human group’s leader, while the latter is a zombie who lives in an airport inside an airplane and didn’t lose hope on coming back to life. The direction was satisfying, maintaining the focus on the course of the story without getting lost on superfluous details, which doesn’t necessarily mean that the movie has lost intensity. The characterization was also positive while the plot was the weakest aspect, with the cold dead seeing the blood running again throughout their veins. Regardless this fact, the idea behind “Warm Bodies” has to be seen purely as amusing or comical, otherwise it would look ridicule. Although this film had the potential to be better, Jonathan Levine maintains his work interesting after the successful “50/50” (2011).

Mama (2013)

Directed by: Andrés Muschietti
Country: Spain/Canada

Review: “Mama” is a horror movie directed by the debutant Andrés Muschietti and produced by his sister Barbara together with J.Miles Dale and Guillermo Del Toro as executive. Its story was based on Muschietti’s short film with the same name, released in 2008. The film has an enigmatic and catchy start, but soon we realize that it would lose itself in technical details instead of a good story. Scary moments do exist but in less number than other silly ones, sinking completely our hopes in watching something frightful and less laughable. The plot revealed to be reckless in many aspects, while the fantasy was taken to extremes, with the hand of Del Toro being evident, yet forgetting that Mama was supposed to be a sore and choleric spirit and not a giant looking like an animated cartoon. Jessica Chastain presented charisma while the little girl Lilly, played by the young Isabelle Nélisse, was the scariest in her look and behavior. A rather uneven paranormal tale.

Rhino Season (2012)

Directed by: Bahman Ghobadi
Country: Iran/Turkey

Review: Bahman Ghobadi went to Turkey to shoot “Rhino Season”, an introspective political thriller with lyrical tones and a very particular pace. 30 years ago, during the Iranian Revolution, Sahel Farzan, a Kurdish-Iranian poet was arrested due to his harmless non-political book entitled “Rhino’s Last Poetry”. His wife’s driver, who was in love with her, made a false accusation driven by envy. Released from prison, Farzan departs to Istambul to search for his wife who believes he has been dead for 20 years. Direction and photography are sublime in this story replete of metaphors. The end is open to multiple interpretations, but it’s clear that Ghobadi wants to show that Iran’s regime is drowning the creativity of its own artists and with that, is also sinking itself. There is no other alternative than to leave a country more and more intolerant to self-expression and parched in its ideas. “Rhino Season” is tragic and evinces a deep sadness and pain... a tough reality for all the oppressed Iranian artists.

Modest Reception (2012)

Directed by: Mani Haghighi
Country: Iran

Review: “Modest Reception” has a turbulent starting. The frenetic jazz heard at the opening credits, soon gives place to an effusive scene involving a strange couple and a checkpoint soldier. This couple simply decided to make a trip to a mountain region and deliver bags full of money to random people. Without knowing their motives or intentions, we just follow the reactions to this unlikely offer. Some people are completely indifferent; others are greedy; some others act suspicious, having to be persuaded to accept the money. Although obscure, the story provokes us somehow. The couple’s behavior denotes some madness, since they seem to enjoy what they’re doing but at the same time can’t hide an enraged personality. Alternating among humor, seriousness and some humiliation, "Modest Reception" simply shows us how unpredictably people behave when confronted with money. A radical experience with an unclear conclusion.

The Wise Kids (2011)

Directed by: Stephen Cone
Country: USA

Review: “The Wise Kids” tells the story of three teenagers who are about to leave their hometown in South Carolina to enter University. All of them are members of a youth group in a Baptist Church and are struggling with their faith in different ways. Brea is a sensible girl, who became restless about her beliefs; Laura needs constant attention, being an example of Christian devotion; Tim is openly gay and very conscious of what he wants. Their families appear just enough times for us to perceive the kind of atmosphere they are experiencing at home. Strangely, the conflicts among the characters are brief; the scenes flow from one to another with a sort of lightness without emphasize the arguments. Tension is presented more as an interior struggle through questions and doubts, or expressions of unhappiness and discomfort. “The Wise Kids” chose a graceful approach to connect sexuality and faith issues in a sincere and intelligent way.